Journey to the Wizard's Den
by fearthepurple
Summary: Post DH .The war with Voldemort has ended and the Wizarding World is trying to get back to their normal lives.Harry gets back with Ginny and tries to plan ahead for his future,but a new nemesis presents itself.They are forced to find the ancient Wizard's
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter and the Journey to the Wizard's Den

Chapter 1

Back in the Swing of Things

"Harry! Breakfast!"

The young man with untidy, jet black hair and , emerald green eyes stirred at the sound of the voice. As he reached for the pair of glasses lying on the nearby table, he lost his hold on the bed and fell in a great heap onto the dusty, wooden floor.

"That was real smooth mate."

Harry looked and saw his best friend, Ron Weasly, leaning against the door frame with a broad grin spread across his face.

"Thanks, I meant to do that," Harry replied. He lifted up the blankets that he dragged on the floor when he fell, and finally managed to retrieve his glasses off the table.

"Honestly Harry," Ron continued, "you can take down the most powerful dark wizard in history, but you can't make it out of bed." Ron sat back down on his bed and let out a short laugh. Harry picked up a pillow off of his bed and chucked it at Ron. He managed to duck in time and the pillow rebounded off the wall filled with Chudley Cannons posters.

"I'll be right down after I change," Harry replied as he started to rummage through his trunk for a clean shirt. Ron retrieved the pillow that was now lying on the floor and tossed it back onto Harry's bed before he strode out of the attic bedroom.

Harry was amazed at how much had changed in just a few short weeks. He could remember the pressure and the weight on his shoulders of the search for the horcruxes, the constant movement to avoid detection, and even the fact that he had sort of died. He still didn't quite understand how he had come back from the dead, but he would have to talk to Dumbledore's portrait again and have him explain the whole thing more slowly. That was all behind him now. The wizarding world was free from Lord Voldemort for good. The battle was finally over and it was he, Harry Potter, who was responsible.

The past few weeks had been hard. So many had perished at the battle at Hogwarts, and so many families had been affected. Harry couldn't even recall how many funerals he had attended, but he felt it was his responsibility after so many had died trying to protect him. It never got easier going to any of them. Each one of them hit hard and it was tough to get over the fact that these people, his friends and fellow wizards, were gone for good.

Harry finally managed to find a clean shirt in his trunk, and he quickly pulled it on along with a pair of jeans. He found his trainers hiding beneath his bed and slipped them on while searching the room for where he had placed his wand. Worry started to set in when he didn't see it any place he would normally sit it. After pulling his blankets off his bed and thoroughly waving them through the air, he realized that it wasn't in there. Falling onto his knees, he crawled on the floor searching to see if he had dropped it somewhere. He couldn't believe he had already managed to lose his wand, after just recently getting back into working order. Finally conceding to the fact that he couldn't find his wand, he stood back up on his feet and then fell back onto his bed to think.

"Searching for something?" a soft voice asked from the doorway.

Harry turned his head and saw Ginny standing in the door frame with a smug expression on her face. "Good morning, and yes I have been searching for something, but how did you know?"

"Didn't I tell you that I am a Seer. I know everything," she giggled trying to maintain a straight face. Harry raised his eyebrows and waited for her to continue. "Ok, I'm not a Seer, but you did leave this in my room last night," she laughed pulling a wand out of her pocket.

Harry gave a sigh of relief as some of his tension left. "It's a good thing you found it before your mum did. Imagine that conversation if she found out that I left my wand in your bedroom."

Ginny sauntered over and planted herself on Harry's lap. "We weren't doing anything _that_ bad. All we did was snog for a while, or a few hours actually," she replied smiling.

Harry wrapped his arms around her stomach and kissed her on the side of her neck making her shiver. "You know we should probably tell everybody at some point that we are together. I think they do have a right to know."

"I have no problem with that; I was just worried you weren't ready to tell anybody yet. Besides, it was kind of fun sneaking around," she answered.

"The only person I'm worried about telling is Ron. He threatened me the last time he thought we were getting back together before Bill and Fleur's wedding."

"Well let's just tell everyone tonight and if Ron tries anything I'll hex him before he has a chance," Ginny proposed.

"That sounds good. It's a good thing I have you around to protect me," Harry added as he lifted Ginny off his lap.

Having decided not to make anyone too suspicious, Harry went down to breakfast first without Ginny. He made his way down the steps leaving her at her bedroom door. As soon as he reached the landing the smell of Mrs. Weasly's food invaded his senses.

"Good morning dear," she said with a bright smile, "sit down, breakfast is almost ready."

Harry was glad to see that she was in a good mood. The past weeks had been difficult on everyone with death of Fred Weasly, but everyone's spirits seemed to be improving.

Harry wished Mr. Weasly good morning as he was the only person besides Ron sitting at the table. Charlie and Percy must have still been in bed.

"Good morning Harry," Mr. Weasly replied as he picked up the copy of the Daily Prophet that was lying on the table. "It's good to see the Prophet's back to publishing real news and not just you-know-who's propaganda."

"I'm actually surprised we haven't had every reporter in Britain knocking on our front door trying to interrogate Harry," Ron laughed.

"Well, I may have had something to do with that," Mr. Weasly said from behind the paper. "I talked to Kingsley about it the other day and he promised to talk to the papers about leaving him alone."

"Thanks Mr. Weasly, I really appreciate it."

"No problem at all Harry," he answered, poking his head over the top of the paper.

Harry really did appreciate the lack of attention. He really didn't feel like having to relive the events of the previous year. He was looking forward to putting it behind him and having a fresh start.

"Here you are boys, eat up," Mrs. Weasly said as she placed plates full of eggs and toast down on the table.

Harry said a quick thank you to her and grabbed several pieces of toast from the nearest plate. Before he could he reached for the eggs he heard footsteps heading down the stairs and turned to see Ginny making her way towards the table.

"Good morning," Ginny said as she grabbed a piece of toast and sat in the chair across him.

Harry caught her eye and they stared at each other for a moment. Ginny smiled and winked, then went back to concentrating on her breakfast. Ron seemed to have noticed what had just happened because he was giving Harry a curious look. Harry tried to look innocent and went back to eating his own toast.

He really wanted to tell Ron about getting back together with Ginny, but was hesitant to without Hermione there to calm him down if he went off the deep end. Hermione had gone to Australia right after the battle at Hogwarts to find her parents. Luckily it didn't take her long to find them and return their memories to normal. She had returned to London, but decided to stay with her parents for a while since she had not seen them in a year. It didn't leave Ron in a good mood when he found out she wasn't going to be around for a while.

Mr. Weasly folded the paper he was reading and took a look at the watch on his wrist. Without warning he jumped to his feet and ran towards the front door, grabbing his traveling cloak. "Sorry everyone, I must be going, so much to do at work."

"But Arthur, it's so early, and you haven't even had any breakfast," Mrs. Weasly said concerned.

"I know Molly, but this new job means new responsibilities." He walked over to his wife and kissed her. "Hopefully I won't be home too late." Mr. Weasly walked out the front door and with a quick _pop_, he Disapparated.

It had been big a news just a week before when Mr. Weasly had come home from the ministry in a state of complete shock. Mrs. Weasly saw her husband and panicked because she thought he had been hexed, but then he told everyone that he had been given a new job. The minister himself, Kingsley Shacklebolt, had appointed Mr. Weasly as the deputy Minister of Magic. They spent the rest of that night in celebration, draining a few bottles of firewhisky. Nobody could have been happier at the news than Harry. Mr. Weasly and the whole Weasly family had given him so much over the years and put their lives on the line for him. Now they were finally getting some of the recognition that they deserved. As much as Harry had loathed the Ministry for their actions before and during the war, he now felt that things were going to change with Kingsley and Mr. Weasly in charge of the wizarding world.

Mrs. Weasly turned her attention from the recently closed door and looked back to the table. "So, what are you lot planning on doing today?"

Ron finished chewing the food in his mouth and replied, "Well, I was thinking about it Mum, and figured we could do something productive like some work around the house, but then I realized I must be going mental."

Harry and Ginny snorted with laughter trying to keep the food in their mouths from projecting everywhere. Ginny calmed herself down and said, "Why don't we go down to Diagon Alley and see how George is doing? He hasn't been back home in a while." This idea seemed to have reminded Mrs. Weasly of her dead son, because she quickly turned away to wipe her eyes on her apron.

"That sounds like a great idea, Ginny," Harry said, trying to cut through some of the tension.

It had been incredibly hard on George losing his twin brother. He had definitely not been himself since it happened. Harry could not really blame him. He could not imagine what it would be like see somebody who looked exactly like you and who you had spent your entire life around die. George had recently spent most of his time in the joke shop that he had created with his brother.

Mrs. Weasly looked around again and said, "Tell your brother he should not spend all his time in that shop and should come home once in a while."

Ginny got up and patted her mother on the shoulder, trying to comfort her. "We will Mum. We'll help you clean up before we leave."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Mrs. Weasly muttered, wiping her eyes again. "I'll have your brothers do it whenever they decide to leave their beds."

Harry was glad to get out of cleaning. It seemed that the majority of the time he had spent at the Burrow in his life had been spent doing chores. The previous summer Mrs. Weasly had had everyone scrubbing down the house, preparing for Bill and Fleur's wedding. She had also used that as an excuse to try and prevent him from being able to plan with Ron and Hermione for the search for the horcruxes.

Ron, Harry, and Ginny finished their breakfast and ventured out the front door into the yard. The weather outside was very comfortable, the sun shielded by a sparse gathering of clouds.

"Should we Apparate then?" Ron asked stretching out his arms with wand in hand.

"I would if I knew how," Ginny responded.

It was true Harry thought. He remembered she wouldn't be seventeen for a couple of weeks and she hadn't had the opportunity for training after being taken away from Hogwarts to avoid capture by the Death Eaters. A funny thought popped into his head when he realized that he hadn't passed the Apparation test either, and he had turned eighteen two days ago. It wasn't really his fault though, the ministry had fallen a day after his birthday a year ago. He would have gone in to take the test, but the fact that Lord Voldemort would probably have been the test administrator had turned him off of that idea.

"Well, I guess you'll have to go by side-along," Ron said, gesturing to his outstretched arm. Here, grab-."

Ron was stopped mid sentence when Ginny ignored his arm and attached herself to Harry's instead. "That's ok Ron, Harry can do it," she replied. Ron let his arm descend back to his side, but the same curious glance he had given Harry back in the kitchen returned to his face. Ginny seemed to have noticed the glance as well.

"No offense Ron, but I heard about the times you went and splinched yourself. I would prefer to keep all of my fingernails," she snickered. Ron's face turned bright red, but the curious look lingered.

After making sure Ginny was clutching his arm tightly, Harry turned on the spot and felt his body being squeezed on all sides. His feet hit the firm pavement outside of the Leaky Cauldron and he teetered for a second trying to regain his balance. He regained it just in time to catch Ginny who was not accustomed to Apparating.

"Thank you very much Mr. Potter," she giggled.

"It was my pleasure," he answered, grabbing her around her waist and pulling her up to kiss her.

He quickly looked up when he realized that one of Ron's curious glances were not seen after he had just kissed his sister. Turning in a circle, he searched the street bordering the Leaky Cauldron. There was nothing around besides a few parked cars.

"Ginny, where is your brother?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice as normal as possible.

"He probably went and splinched himself again. Look for a leg or a finger or something," she said jokingly.

Harry looked around again, but could still see no trace of Ron. That familiar feeling of dread started to occupy his mind. The feeling was amplified when a piercing scream erupted from inside of the Leaky Cauldron.


	2. Unexpected Events

Chapter 2

Unexpected Events

Time seemed to stop in the moment the scream echoed from the inside of the bar. Harry stood and stared for a moment at the door to bar, collecting his thoughts and deciding on a plan of action. The scream sounded as if it had come from the rooms on the upper level of the establishment. It was probably alright on the bottom level, there didn't seemed to be any sounds of struggle or violence coming from the bar area. Stepping closer to door, he reached for his wand, grasping it tightly and preparing for what ever lied beyond it. As he reached to grab the door handle, he suddenly remembered that Ginny was still standing behind him. He turned on the spot and saw that she too had her wand out and was preparing for him to pull open the door. Though he worried about her getting hurt, it was one of the things he admired about her the most; she was always ready to join in the fight. He whispered to her to stay behind him when they entered and she nodded in acquiescence.

Swiftly pulling on the handle, he hurried into the bar, nearly tripping on an uneven plank of wood on the floor. He righted himself and held his wand at the ready. The rest of the room were also on their feet, leaving their dishes of food and mugs full of various beverages abandoned on the tables. None of the patrons seemed to have even noticed that they had burst into the bar wands aloft. Only Tom the barmen glanced over their way, before diverting his attention back to the staircase in the corner of the bar. Their still seemed to be raised voices coming from the rooms, but what they were saying wasn't discernable. Harry decided to slowly make his way forward, but before he made it more then a few steps, the sound of a door flying open stopped him in his tracks. Ginny bumped into him from behind, apparently also distracted by the recent noise.

"You are a filthy little scoundrel! If I ever see you again I'll start removing things you will surely regret not having!" The women's screeches shook the glasses on the tables spread throughout the bar.

Everyone's attention had been focused on the voice roaring through the bar, but now Harry turned his attention to footsteps that were racing towards the wooden staircase. He had lowered his wand momentarily, but he raised it again, ready for whatever was coming down. What happened next seemed to take place in slow motion. Harry saw a glimpse of red appear around the corner at the top of the steps, followed by the rest of Ron Weasly. He was going faster than Harry had ever seen him run, but he thought this probably wasn't a good thing, seeing as he was about to descend down the steps. To his astonishment, he actually managed to make it down the majority of the steps before things went bad. On the fourth to last step he stumbled and his body went hurdling through the air. Harry stared for a moment, thinking Ron resembled an acrobat in the circus. That thought was quickly wiped from his mind as he watch his friend land on the closest table as it began to implode. The impact caused the torches in the bar to flicker and some of the glasses fell off the bar and shattered into a million minute shards.

As soon as Ron went through the table, the customers around him were forced to take cover as large splinters were rocketed into various directions. Harry heard Ginny gasp at the sight of her brother plummeting through the table, and quickly ran over to the ruins. He carefully began pulling off chunks of wood, not wanting to have to pull splinters out of his hands. The top of his friend's head started to emerge from the wreckage, and he reached over and dug out his arm so he could help him to his feet. As he managed to pull him up, Ginny wondered over and helped him pick out the pieces of wood that were still attached to his clothes. Ron quickly started examining self to see if he was injured and making sure everything was still properly fixed to his body. Harry quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him so that they were face to face.

"What the hell happened to you?" Harry asked. His face was expressionless and he didn't exactly know what to think.

"Uh . . . could we talk about it outside? I think I could use some fresh air," he whispered back, trying not to be overheard.

Harry decided this was probably a good idea considering that the whole occupancy of the bar was still staring at them. He turned Ron around and pushed him towards the exit to Diagon Alley. Once Ron was safely out the door Harry turned around and grabbed Ginny's hand and led her out behind him. He quickly let go as he reached the outside and planted himself firmly in front of Ron.

"Now that we are outside, could you enlighten us on what just happened? You nearly scared us to death," he exclaimed.

"Well," Ron started reluctantly, his ears turning red, "my Apparating sort of went bad again. I ended up in some old witch's room and she was right in the middle of changing her clothes, and I landed right in front of her." Now his whole face had turned a magnificent shade of red.

"Ron!" Ginny gasped in shock.

"Yeah, that was her reaction at first too," he carried on. "Unfortunately the shock didn't last too long and it turned more into rage. It was like having a bloody dragon staring me down. That's when she did this and I ran out the door." He was pointing to something on the side of his face. It was hard to discern through the dust and dirt from the destroyed table covering his face, but there was indeed what looked like an imprint of a lady's hand.

"She slapped you?" Ginny inquired. "That's all?"

"What do you mean that's all?" Ron retorted. "It bloody hurt! Personally I think it was punishment enough that I had to see what I saw."

"Well if someone popped in on me when I was changing, I would make sure to hex them with everything that I could possibly think of," she answered ignoring his previous comment.

At this point all of the dread that Harry had been feeling before had left and now he was trying not to laugh at Ron's mishap. "You know, we should probably get out of here before she decides to come back and do that as well You heard what she said; don't you want to leave with everything still attached?." Ron shuddered at the thought as Harry moved forward and tapped the brick in the appropriate order, causing the barrier to move aside.

Diagon Alley was unusually packed for being so early in the morning. There were many people bustling around through the crowded street, hoisting there various purchases in their arms. The sight of this made Harry feel like there was real progress being made. People were starting to get back to their normal, everyday lives. He could remember his previous trip here like it was only yesterday. There were people lining the alley in complete despair, living on the street, pondering where there lost loved ones were or if they were even still alive. Even before the last visit, before Voldemort had taken over, there was still the loom of him that had hung over the people. He could still remember the signs on the windows warning of escaped Death Eaters, the posters advising on how to protect your family. The whole wizarding community was in a state of fear and went out only when necessary. That was over now and he felt his whole body was a little bit lighter at finally seeing some of the results of the victory. It made him feel like everything that had been sacrificed had been worth it.

As he walked through the crowded street, he felt a familiar sensation that everyone was watching him or talking behind his back. He couldn't even begin to count the times that this had occurred during his years at Hogwarts. He was used to it by now and he didn't really care, but there seemed to be something quite different about it now. People seemed to be looking at him in amazement and without the usual hostility. Some began approaching, hands outstretched.

"Mr. Potter, how can we ever thank you?"

"Harry you are truly a hero!"

"It is an honor to be in your presence, Mr. Potter."

This was the first time he had truly been out in public. He had attended funerals for the victims of Voldemort's attack, but those had been so somber he knew nothing like this would have happened there. Yet, there was part of him that had been expecting something eventually. Something was one thing, but this was overwhelming. He had not been prepared and people were all around besieging him, trying to shake his hand or clap him on the back. They were doing anything to touch the famous Harry Potter. He looked around, searching to find Ron and Ginny, but all he could see were their heads as people were surrounding them as well. There were no outlets in the crowd to escape through, so he figured he would just have to say something as much as he didn't really want to.

"Excuse me," he said. There was nobody paying attention to his voice so he knew he would have to say it louder. "EXCUSE ME! We really do appreciate all of this, we really do, but we're kind of in a hurry." This was a complete lie, but it appeared to have worked. The tight grip that the crowd had around them was beginning to loosen, and the raucous voices were starting to dissipate. Harry was afraid that he may have offended the people by asking them to leave, but they just smiled and returned to their previous activities. Harry managed to find Ginny's hand and pulled her through the crowd with Ron following closely. They took a break from walking and found a quiet area outside of Flourish and Blotts.

"I hope that doesn't happen every time we leave the house now. I mean I like getting attention, but that's a little bit much for me," Ron said.

"I think we may have to consider moving to another country if we want any peace and quiet," Harry joked. He was joking, but Ginny apparently did not think it was funny because her brown eyes were glaring at him.

"What's wrong with you?" Ron asked noticing the look she was giving. He waved his hand in front of her face, trying to gain her attention.

"Nothing," she said. "Come on lets keep going."

With the escaped Death Eater posters, and Undesirable Number One warrants gone it was actually possible to see into the plethora of shops once again. Harry felt like he was eleven years old again, staring in wonder at the many fascinating wizarding products. There seemed to be a sudden urge to go and spend as much money as possible. He knew he really didn't need anything at the moment, but he couldn't resist the temptation. The moment he reached Quality Qudditch Supplies he stopped dead and stared into the shop window. There in the window was the most brilliant broom he had ever laid his eyes on. It was very sleek, but was longer than most other brands. It had a rubber grip at the handle and the broom itself was colored black with red flames engulfing it. Harry pressed his face up against the window, quickly being reminded he was wearing his glasses when the frames met the glass. He pulled his head away and straightened them back into their proper place.

He turned around to see that Ron and Ginny were up at another store browsing around. This seemed a good time to go in and look around while they were busy. The real reason he wanted to go in alone was to buy something for Ginny's birthday. He felt bad that he had missed the last one, and he needed to make up for it. It was lucky because when he stepped into the shop it didn't seem crowded so that cut down on the risk of unwanted attention. One of the employees had noticed him when he made his way through the door and was walking in his direction.

"How may I help you, sir?" the man asked before his jaw dropped open. "Oh my, Mr. Potter what a pleasure!" The man was now ringing his hand vigorously, having just come to the realization of who he was.

"Yeah, thanks, and actually you can help me with something. I was interested in the new broom on display up front." Harry pointed towards the front window.

"Oh, you're referring to the new Mars 200 series. An incredible broom, best model since the Firebolt."

Harry stopped listening for a moment at the mention of the Firebolt. He had completely forgotten that he was no longer in the possession of a broom. It had fallen who knows where when he was leaving from Privet Drive the previous summer. He didn't really need a broom anymore, but he felt like something had been ripped out of him. There was nothing better than being up in the air on his broom, even if he wasn't playing quidditch.

The man was still talking. ". . . and if you were wondering what the two-hundred in the name stands for, it is because it can accelerate to two-hundred miles per hour in just ten seconds. That is a significant increase from the Firebolt. Another thing to know is that there is no longer any worry about falling off. This broom contains a sticking charm that keeps your bottom firmly planted on."

"Wow, the broom sounds incredible. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that it's expensive," Harry raised his eyebrows and asked already knowing full well what the answer would be.

"Well it's not cheap. These are the best brooms available on the market," the man chuckled.

Harry figured as much, but he had already made up his mind. "Ok, you sold me on it. I'll take two of them."

The man's jaw dropped again as it had when he had realized he was speaking to the famous Harry Potter. "Did you say two, son?"

"Yes sir. I was wondering if you could hold them for me because I need to run to Gringott's and get some money out if that's not a problem?"

"Oh not at all Mr. Potter, I'll go prepare them for you so there ready when you return."

"Actually, there's no hurry. I would like them to be delivered because it's really a surprise for someone else and I don't want them to see me walk out with it. I'll just stop and pay for them on my way back."

"Very well, that can be arranged." The man bowed and made his way towards a store room in the rear of the shop.

Harry walked out the door and began searching for Ron and Ginny again. They had wandered there way towards another store.

"Where have you been?" Ginny asked when he finally managed to make his way to them.

"Oh, just looking around. I need to go to Gringotts and take out some money if you two don't mind?" Harry replied.

"That works out, it's on the way to the joke shop," Ron answered his question.

"Why do you need to get money out?" Ginny asked him looking very curious.

"I just wanted to pick something up on our way back, that's all." He tried to keep his face as straight as possible so he wouldn't give away anything about what he was really doing. She looked like she was going to ask something else, but decided not to.

They started walking again, but they slowed down when they got closer to the bank. Something odd appeared to going on out front. There was a crowd of people who all seemed to want to get into the bank. As he got closer Harry saw that they were all in a line waiting to get through what he guessed was security. If it was security though, it was the funniest looking security he had ever seen. It only consisted of a large group of goblins, but they looked like they were getting ready to go off to war. They were wearing miniature suits of armor, which he had no doubt were goblin made as they wouldn't wear anything else, also short swords that were tucked into their belts. It was just like the illustration he had seen of goblin wars in his History of Magic classes. He could also see that they were all holding secrecy sensors and jabbing them into any nearby wizard who intended on getting into the bank.

"Bill told me they were furious when we managed to break into a vault. They don't even care that we were trying to take down you-know-who. They have certainly tightened up their security," Ron said.

"I read in the paper they're still repairing the damage you two did with that dragon," Ginny added.

"Too bad the dragon didn't eat a few those little foul creatures on his way out. Especially that little double crosser, Griphook, that made a deal with us and then tried to make it sound like we were the only ones involved," Ron replied. He was laughing for a second about the thought of the dragon eating goblins, but that was suddenly interrupted.

"There are the thieves! Come, let's get them!"

Harry looked around and saw that the group of goblins that had been standing sentry at the bank's door had left their post and were scurrying towards them as fast as their little legs could go. Before they even had a chance to try and escape they were surrounded. Normally Harry thought that he wouldn't be worried about getting into a fight with a goblin, but twenty at once was a completely different story altogether. He raised his wand and stood in front of Ginny, placing his free hand in front of Ron to prevent him from attacking. Knowing Ron's distaste for the Goblins, he didn't want to start something if it could be talked out without violence. Harry knew this possibility was lessening every second as the goblins had holstered their secrecy sensors and pulled out their miniature swords. Harry thought from far away the swords looked quite comical, like some kind of children's toy. As they approached though, Harry's opinion changed as he realized they looked deathly sharp.


	3. Wounded Weasly

A/N: Hope you enjoy, please read and review.

Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter are not mine, they all belong to JKR.

Harry took a few steps backwards. This was not a good situation. He had his wand out, but was hesitant to attack. How were they going to get out of this? The goblins were approaching slowly, scowling at them as they brandished their weapons. The people that had been waiting to get into the bank were all still standing outside the front door. Harry thought to himself how those people before had been so eager to come up and thank him, but didn't seem to want to come and help him get away from an extremely angry group of goblins.

"Um, Harry, what exactly are we going to do?" Ginny asked, her voice shaking slightly.

Harry thought that was an excellent question, but unfortunately he did not have an answer for her. He knew they wouldn't be able to Apparate out. There was still strict security over Diagon Alley that prevented it. The other option would be fighting, but he knew some of things that goblins were capable of and didn't really want to experience it. Before he could say anything one of the goblins answered her question.

"Don't worry young lady; you are not the same witch who was with these two criminals. You may step back while we make them pay for their crimes."

"Why don't you sod off, or should we bring the dragon back?" Ron questioned pointing his wand straight at lead goblin.

"Ron, maybe not the best time to threaten them," Harry whispered back. "That is unless you happen to have a dragon in your pocket?"

"Sorry, mate, I left my spare dragon home," he answered back.

The goblins were getting closer, but something suddenly made them stop in their tracks. Somebody was running out of the front of Gringotts towards them. Harry reluctantly took his eyes from the approaching goblins and looked back into the crowd in front of the bank. The figure was fighting its way through spectators, pushing them to the side. The appearance of red hair and the face of Bill Weasly, made him let out a large breath he had been holding in relief.

"Weasly, what are you doing down here, this is none of your business?" the lead Goblin belted out.

"It ruddy well is my business when you are trying to attack members of my family," Bill roared back.

"Don't tell me that you are related to these criminals."

"I am, but they are no criminals. The only reason that they broke into this bank was because you little traitors were busy worrying about protecting things for Voldemort and his Death Eaters." Bill was seething with anger, and the goblins just stood and stared back in shock. "I think it would be wise to let them pass now or have you forgotten who my father is? I don't think he would have any problem sending ministry officials down here if he knew there were goblins attacking innocent teenagers!"

At Bill's words the goblins seemed to have sobered and had lowered their weapons. Harry knew they probably weren't too thrilled with the idea of members from the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures turning up. He could see that they had given up their attack and were trudging back up to the front door of the bank.

"Thanks Bill, that was a pretty close call," Harry said as he shook his hand.

"Don't worry about it. Dad's new job is really what saved you. It has really worked to my advantage being able to threaten them with the ministry every time I have a problem with what their doing, which is often."

"So how did you know we were in trouble?" Ginny asked as she went up to hug her eldest brother.

"Well, I was looking out of my window in my office, and I saw three kids surrounded by goblins. Two of them had red hair and the other one had black hair and was wearing glasses. Knowing the kind of trouble you lot like to get yourselves into I was pretty sure of whom it was. So what are the three of you up to?"

"We were on our way into the bank so Harry could stop at his vault, but we were unfortunately stopped by those ugly little gits," Ron answered staring back up at the front door.

"Why don't you and Ginny wait out here and I'll take Harry down to his vault? I think you're safer out here away from the goblins." Bill motioned for Harry to follow him and they made their way towards the security goblins. Bill stepped in front of Harry as one of the goblins approached him.

"There will be no need to check Harry. I can vouch for him so there is no need to poke him with your secrecy sensor, Loorag." The goblin simply stared at Bill for a second before he lowered the sensor and searched for someone else to check. Bill pulled out his wand and opened up the enormous bronze doors which had been closed when the goblins had returned to their post.

Harry followed Bill through the door that led to the bank's main chamber. The room was brightly lit with torches lining the walls As usual there were the rows of goblins, filling out tedious paper work or counting out stacks of galleons. As he passed, he could see each one of their faces slowly moving their gaze from their work to his face. He was waiting for them to attack, keeping his hand tightly gripped on his wand, but to his relief their attention returned to their work. He noticed that while he had been watching the goblins that he had fallen behind Bill a few feet, so he sprinted ahead, not wanting to be left alone in a room full of creatures intent on causing him harm.

There were doors that led to the various sections of the bank spread throughout the walls of the chamber. Bill led him to the door that he used the first time that Hagrid had brought him to retrieve money from his vault. They made their way through the door and Harry could feel himself shiver as the chill of the air radiated from the cavernous hollow containing the vaults. The cart was waiting for them on the tracks ready to take them down to his vault. They squeezed in and the cart started forward gradually picking up speed.

As they made their way down the path, they came up on a sharp turn and Harry was forced to grab onto the side of the cart to prevent himself from plummeting over the edge into the depths of the cave. He looked around and saw that Bill was standing like nothing was happening and realized that after all that time he spent at the bank, the rides on the carts must not bother him anymore. He turned back around as he felt the cart's pace slowing down and saw that it had come to a halt right in front of his vault.

"Go ahead Harry, get what you need and I'll wait for you out here," Bill gestured toward the vault.

Harry pulled out the vault key that been stashed in his pocket and inserted into the wall. The locks clicked and he moved the door out of the entrance to the vault. He walked in and just stood for a moment taking in his surroundings. Every time he was in the vault it gave him a feeling of disbelief. His parents had left him a fortune and he didn't even have any idea where it all came from. Though he had been using the money in the vault for seven years he hadn't even managed to make a dent in the piles of gold. The only person who likely knew how much money he had was Bill, only because he had retrieved money for him before. He hated the idea of people knowing of his wealth and possibly treating him different for it. Coming out of his musings, he walked over and tried to figure out how much gold he would actually need. Thinking back he really should have asked the man in the store the price before he left. Deciding just to wing it, he deposited a significant amount of gold into a pouch that he had brought with him.

The trip back through tunnels went by quick and was uneventful. As the cart came to a stop at the door leading back into the bank's main chamber, Bill put a hand on Harry's shoulder stopping him from disembarking.

"Harry, would you mind coming up to my office for a moment? I have something for you that you should have been given a couple years ago."

Harry took a moment to consider Bill, unable to muster up any idea on what he was talking about. "Uh, sure Bill, no problem."

Bill removed his hand from his shoulder and stepped off of the cart. He followed into a room he had never seen before and looked around to view the magnificent golden lifts that led to the upper levels of the bank. The lift opened up and several goblins stepped out carrying stacks of papers and paying them no attention. After stepping in behind Bill, he pressed the number three that he had asked him to push. Harry leaned back against the side of the lift as it began to move. The ride was short and it was only a few seconds before Bill was leading him out and into the dimly lit hallway. The walls were lined with portraits, all seemingly filled with goblins. They walked past a wooden door every few feet until they came to a door that had a nameplate, the name Weasly adorning it. Bill stepped forward and twisted the knob, revealing a spacious room with large, oak desk, scattered chairs and a filing cabinet. Harry could see that Bill had tried to give the room some personality, adding quidditch posters to the walls and placing pictures of his large family around the room.

As Bill took a seat, he gestured for Harry to do the same and started to search the top of his desk that was littered with papers. "Ok Harry, I just need you to sign this parchment for me and then I can give you your vault key."

Harry stared for a second, more confusion drifting into his head. "Bill, I already have a vault key. Why do I need another?"

"This is for your other vault."

"What other vault are you talking about?"

"Oh, this is for the Black family vault and the money that Sirius left to you in his will. As you know the past couple years have been hectic and nobody here has had a chance to notify you about the new vault. At least that was the goblin's excuse."

"I thought Dumbledore said that they had already added it to my vault."

"Well that was the original intent, but there wasn't enough room in your vault to accommodate the transfer. We moved the Black estate to a vault that is close to your other one."

"Is it really that much? I was just told that it was a reasonable amount."

"Here, you can have a look at the account balance." Bill reached for another paper and handed over to Harry.

Harry grabbed the slip and looked down at bottom to see the total. He looked once and then looked away to make sure that he was seeing clearly. Looking down again he saw that he had not been mistaken and felt his jaw drop. "Wow."

"I think you have enough to last you there for a while Harry," Bill smirked.

"A few life times actually," Harry grinned, then put on serious expression. "Could we keep the amount of money just between us, I really don't want everyone knowing?"

"Not a word Harry, everything here is completely confidential." Bill finished with the paperwork and led back out of the bank just to be safe.

Harry met back up with Ron and Ginny who had been sitting on a bench across from the bank and they bade goodbye to Bill who had to get back to business. They continued down the street, occasionally peering into the shops as they passed. As they passed the shop filled to the brim with hyper magical pets, Harry's heart sank for a moment when he remembered Hedwig. Hedwig had been his first real friend and had kept him company all those lonely hours he had spent pent up in Dudley's extra bedroom at the Dursley's. While he missed Hedwig, he felt conflicted in his feelings in whether or not he should try and replace her. One side of him was telling him that it wouldn't feel the same with a new pet, but the other side, the side of reason, told him that he really needed to buy a new owl to be able to send post. He decided it would be best to just go and get it over with, and try not to think that Hedwig's ghost would show up and start pecking him for trying to replace her.

"You two want to come help me pick out a new owl?" Harry asked turning to his companions.

"Oh Harry! I completely forgot about Hedwig. Of course, we'll help. Come on lets go in," Ginny said leading them into the busy shop.

The shop was full of various creatures, some roaming around on the dirty floor and some flying from perch to perch under the store's ceiling. It was hard to concentrate on any one certain thing going on in the store, for the fear of being hit by the owl droppings or having something land on top of your head. Harry walked around, treading carefully as to avoid slipping on the mess that was the floor. He looked in all directions, searching the wide variety of owls. They came in all shapes and sizes, in a variety of colors. He was surprised when he saw a couple of the owls seemed to be dyed in bright neon colors. The idea of a bright yellow owl was funny for a second, until he remembered that if he ever needed to send a message without somebody knowing who it was from, it wouldn't be very practical.

Walking around he saw a few owls that peeked his interest, but he was having a hard time deciding. He was forced to jump back quickly when a rather agitated looking owl managed to break itself out of its cage and take flight around the shop. One of the employees ran from behind the counter, cursing loudly, trying to apprehend the escaped owl, but without very much luck. Harry tore his eyes away from the amusing scene and wandered about for a few more moments before something caught his eye. There was room off to the side of the main store with a tattered maroon tapestry hanging over the entryway. He could see the tapestry was pulled to the side a bit, not completely blocking the view into the next room. Looking through he saw what he thought was an owl at first, but when it turned to face him he realized it looked more like an eagle or hawk of some kind.

Unable to suppress his curiosity, he turned to make sure no one was paying him any mind and carefully made his way past the tapestry. The room was cluttered fool of various types of cages and boxes of owl treats. The bird that Harry had seen was the only one that seemed to be in the back room. For a second he worried that the bird may be dangerous and it wasn't in a cage, but it didn't seem to mind him at all. He walked up to the magnificent bird and took in all of its features. It was much larger than many owls and had amazingly sharp talons. It had brilliant black eyes, black wings, and what looked like a black collar around its neck. Both the head and the chest of the bird were white with a few black spots scattered about. Harry pushed back the urge to pet it, not keen on the idea of losing a finger, or considering the size of the predator, a whole hand. He turned around quickly when he heard someone clearing their throat. A man in golden robes was leaning against the door frame staring at him.

"May I help you?" the man staring asked.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to break in. I just saw your bird in here and was curious as to what it was," Harry quickly answered.

"Ah yes, the Harpy Eagle, an amazing creature. Would you be interested in purchasing it by any chance?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, quite serious. We special ordered this bird directly from a store in South America for a customer. The customer however, decided at the last second that he did not wish to have it anymore. I've been asking around trying to find someone who wanted him, but unfortunately I haven't had any luck. If you're interested I would most certainly offer you a good deal."

"I wasn't aware that eagles were magical creatures. What's special about them?" Harry inquired.

"Oh they are most certainly magical. They have the same abilities as owls, but are much swifter in their deliveries of post. The eagle is very well trained and behaved, but seeing as you, Mr. Potter, are one who has a propensity for finding danger, the eagle could be a very great ally in a fight."

All of the things this man was saying were greatly appealing to Harry's interests. If he was honest with himself, he really didn't want another owl because he knew none could really ever replace Hedwig very well. "How much do you want for him?"

"Well, I believe I would be willing to sell him for two hundred galleons," the man stated.

Harry thought to himself and pondered the offer for a second. Then he remembered that he had a fortune sitting down the street in Gringott's and he made up his mind. "Ok, I'll take him. Do I need to buy a cage or food or anything for him?"

"None of those things will be necessary. Eagles are very proud creatures and adamantly refuse to be put into any sort of cage. Don't worry about food either; just let him out everyday to hunt and he should be fine. If there's not anything else then why don't we take care of business so we can both be on our way?"

Harry pulled out his bag full of galleons and counted out the necessary amount, handing them over to the man. The man walked over to the bird and murmured something to him causing it to fly over and perch itself on Harry's shoulder.

"The bird is now officially yours Mr. Potter, and will follow your instructions. My name is Mr. Thorton, if you ever have any questions. So if that's it I have to get back to work." Mr. Thorton turned around and went back through the tapestry into the main shop.

Harry glanced up at his new companion and the bird stared back with its striking eyes. He rubbed the bird's smooth black feathers and it bowed its head, apparently in approval. Harry walked back through the entryway looking for where his friends had gotten to. The people who were directly next him were staring at the creature that was now sitting on his left shoulder. He spotted Ron looking at the supplies for owls, probably trying to find something for Pig. Looking around he saw Ginny who was at the section devoted to cats, playing with a small black and white kitten. He walked across the room to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around quickly and her jaw dropped.

"Harry what is that on your shoulder?"

"This is my new eagle. I wondered into the backroom and found him there. The owner walked in and offered to sell him to me so I accepted."

"Wow, he's amazing. Does he have a name yet?" she asked.

"No not yet. I guess we'll have to think of something later. And don't even think about calling him something that sounds like Pig," he joked earning himself a slap on the arm. "So who's that you have there?" he asked noticing she was still holding the kitten he had noticed before.

"Oh isn't it adorable. I've always wanted to get a cat, but mum would never let me because she was afraid Fred and George would blow it up."

Harry considered this for a moment, coming up with an idea. "So what if I got you the kitten as an early birthday present?"

"Harry you don't need to buy me a kitten," she forced herself to say, but her face was definitely betraying her true feelings.

"Come on Gin, I know you really want it, and I really want to get it for you."

Her eyes lit up after a second and she flung her free arm around Harry's neck. "Thank you so much! You are the best boyfriend ever!"

Harry smiled at her and answered, "I know," earning him another slap on the arm for being cocky. This was working exactly as Harry planned because now she wouldn't be curious when he went back to pay for the brooms he ordered.

They went up to the front of the store and Harry paid for the kitten and the supplies and food that were needed. After finding Ron, who was thoroughly surprised that Harry had bought his sister a kitten and also had an eagle sitting on his shoulder, they headed out of store and towards Weasly's Wizard Wheezes. The street had cleared out somewhat as the day grew later. It was a quick walk to the shop, but something wasn't right when it came into view. All of the lights inside of the shop seemed to be extinguished and there was no sign of activity inside. Ron walked up to the window and peered inside, but couldn't see anything due to the darkness. He continued to the door and tried to open it and it was locked.

"Isn't the shop always open this time of day?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah, usually it is. I wonder if something's wrong," Ginny pondered.

"There's only one way to find out." Ron pulled his wand out of his pocket and whispered _Alohamora_. The lock clicked on the door and he slowly pushed it open, trying not to make too much noise.

Harry quietly followed behind pulling out his wand and casting _Lumos. _The light protruding from his wand was barely able to cut through the intense darkness of the shops interior. He heard Ginny light her wand as well, but the added light barely made a difference. Walking around the shop, he noticed the state of disarray the store seemed to be in. While George and his brother had a knack for causing messes and explosions, the one time he had been there previously the place had been very well kept and organized. Now there were various products mixed together on shelves and some of the displays were lying knocked over on the floor. Something definitely didn't feel right. He looked around again and noticed the doorway that led to the other room in the store. There was a curtain up that blocked his view, but he started to make his way over. The fact that there was no light proved to be a hindrance because as he made his way, he slipped on something and stumbled into the nearest display, knocking it to the floor. In the split second his attention had been turned, the curtain pulled back and man stepped out flourishing his wand. Before Harry had a chance to pull his wand up, a jet of red light hurtled towards him hitting him squarely in the chest. His body was pushed backwards and there was a sudden burst of pain in his back as he crashed into a shelf full of merchandise.

"Harry!" Ginny cried. She rushed over in his direction and tried to clear the products off that were lying on top of his body. Meanwhile, Harry's eagle, which had jumped off of his shoulder before the impact of the spell was clawing at the man who had shot the spell. The sound of clothing ripping was echoing throughout the store.

"AH! SOMEBODY STOP THIS BLOODY BIRD!"

Harry shifted himself on the floor, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his back and called, "Stop!" The eagle that had been viciously attacking halted and flew over to the front counter.

"Ginny is that you? And is that Ron?" George Weasly stepped out from next the curtain and out of the shadows revealing his face that had been scratched in several places by the eagle. Ginny and Ron nodded in affirming his questions. "Then who did I just attack?"

"That would be me," Harry answered, coming to his feet with Ginny's assistance. George's face fell for a moment before it reemerged adorned with a scowl.

"What in the name of Merlin do you think you were doing?! You can't just break into my shop without warning. You're lucky I didn't blast all of you across the room!" he barked.

"George, we thought something was wrong because the shop was closed during the day and all the lights were out," Ginny explained.

"Well there's nothing wrong so you lot can just leave and go home," George responded.

"There _is_ something wrong because if you haven't looked in the mirror lately, you look horrible. What about the state of the shop? Come on why don't you come home with us. Mum really wants you to come home, "Ginny pleaded.

"I'm fine," George muttered.

"You are not!" Ginny continued.

"GINNY I SAID THAT I AM FINE! Now just leave," George commanded.

Ginny's face fell and tears started to fall down her cheeks. That was enough for Harry. If there was one thing that could make him mad, it was somebody causing the girl he cared about more than anything to cry. He walked over and put his arm around her and rounded on George.

"Are you happy now? You have succeeded in making your sister cry just because she was concerned about you! Everybody is upset because Fred died, but you can't take it out on other people and you can't hide away. Trust me, I'm the master at bottling things up and it is never good. After Sirius died at the ministry, I went back to Dumbledore's office and destroyed it, completely tore it apart. All that I managed to accomplish was make myself look like a child having a temper tantrum. We're all just trying to help."

"He's right George. You know Fred would be disappointed if he saw you acting like this or if he saw how this shop looks right now," Ron pointed out.

George continued staring for a moment before he dropped to the floor and sat with his back against the wall. "You're right. I'm sorry, Ginny; I didn't mean to yell at you. Sorry for hitting you with the spell Harry. I just don't know what to do now." He put his head in his hands and continued to sit completely dejected.

"How long have you been closed?" Ron asked.

"I've kept it closed the past week. After Verity quit, I couldn't keep up with it by myself," he responded.

"Why did she quit?" Ron questioned.

"If you haven't noticed I've been a right git lately. I got mad at her over something completely stupid and yelled at her. She told me she quit and got up and left."

"Did you try talking to her and apologizing?" Ginny asked.

"I tried, but she doesn't want to come back. I scared her off."

They sat in silence for several more minutes, before Harry came up with something. "Listen George, why don't you let us help you around here for the rest of the summer. Ron and I haven't figured out what we're going to do about school yet, so we'll stay until you get things up and running again. I'm sure Ginny would be willing to help too. What do you two think?"

"I think it's a great idea. It gives us an excuse not to stay home and do housework all day," Ron commented.

"I'll help out as long as George promises to come home for dinner tonight and see mum," Ginny added.

"I guess I can do that. You guys are life savers, really. Why don't you head home while I get cleaned up and I'll meet you there? I need to go clean out these scratches. Whose bird is that anyways?" George asked.

"He's mine, I just bought him today," Harry mentioned. "I think he's rather protective. Sorry about the scratches."

"No problem Harry. Now I know not to attack you in its presence," George smiled for the first time.

They left the shop, Harry's eagle on his shoulder and Ginny holding the container that housed her kitten. On the way back to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry stopped off at Quality Quidditch Supplies and paid a substantial amount of money for the two brooms. He also bought a book to cover as the reason that he actually stopped there. Luckily by the time they arrived at the bar, most of the patrons who had been present before were gone. They went back out onto the street outside the bar. Harry had to restrain himself from rolling on the ground laughing when Ron refused to Apparate back without holding on to Harry's arm to make sure he ended up in the right place. He managed to compose himself and take Ginny and Ron back to Burrow with no harm done.


	4. A Book and Some Gnomes

A/N: Please Read and Review

A Book and Some Gnomes

_The wind blew through the wildly growing grass, bringing with it a strong stench. It was like something old, something that had been locked away and died over time. It carried over the hills and scattering of trees, dead limbs branching out in every direction. There was no sign of life, no sign that any living thing had been in the vicinity in a long time. The full moon cast an eerie glow upon the earth. _

_Sounds of popping suddenly filled the air. One by one, figures appeared out of no where, there long robes billowing in the gusting wind. The figures, ten in all, stood still, drinking in their new surroundings. One figure broke out of his reverie, stepping forward, staring at the ground. At first glance one would only notice the tallness of the grass, but looking closer revealed littering of bones all around. The figure stumbled for a moment as the strong aroma of death filled his head, singeing the inside of his nose and mouth. He coughed and spit onto the grass trying to remove the unpleasantness._

_One of the other figures stepped forward and spoke, his voice deep and powerful, "Is this the location, have we finally found it?" It was hard not to hear the anxiousness in the man's voice._

"_I believe this is it my brother. I can sense the ancient magic in this area. This must be where it resides," the first man answered. He extended his hand holding his wand and slowly made movements with it across his body, left to right. After only a few moments he ceased his actions and turned around to face his companions. "Farov step forward!" _

_A rather short man with a medium build stepped out of the crowd. He trudged forward stopping in front of the other man. "What do you need sir?"_

"_I want you to get me the book. Do not use another blasting curse like last time. Do you understand me? You drew far too much attention at the last location, and we were almost discovered. Make sure to use one of the digging spells," the first man ordered._

_The short man stepped forward; drawing his wand he aimed it toward the earth and shouted, "Emoveo Humus!" There was brilliant beam of white light that escaped from the wand and burrowed beneath the ground. As the light built up under the ground there was a great boom as dirt and stone were propelled upward towards the night sky. In the debris that was expelled, there was a shape that stood out among the rest. It was rectangular and looked to be covered in a faded red color. _

_The first man stepped up and pointed his wand saying Accio Book! The object switched from its current direction and flew into the man's outstretched hand. The man stashed his wand in a pocket on the inside of his robes. As the last of the debris settled back around him, he held the book in front of him as if holding a great treasure, handling it with the utmost care. Undoing the clasp on the book, he opened it revealing pages and pages of text. He flipped through the pages as if searching for something in particular. After several long minutes, he removed the hood concealing his visage, revealing his old face as a large grin spread across it. The man stepped back and with a quick turn Disapparated. Following his lead the others quickly vanished. In their haste to leave no one seemed to notice as a silver haired fox crept into the field from behind one of the trees. And as quickly as the fox appeared it quickly was gone and turned into the form of another hooded figure. The figure surveyed the area once before shaking its head beneath its cloak and disappearing._

_ XxXxXxXx_

As the ground developed beneath his feet as he Apparated, Harry could see the inside of the Burrow was filled with activity. Most likely it was Mrs. Weasly running around preparing dinner. The light outside was starting to dim as the sun started to set. The trio headed towards the door with Harry's eagle on his shoulder and Ginny holding her carrier containing her new kitten. As Harry approached the door into the kitchen he heard a rustling sound and then a thump as something hit the ground.

"Ahhhhhh! Get these bloody effing things off of me!" Ron was lying on the ground as a group of gnomes were jumping on his stomach. With the commotion, the door opened to the kitchen and Mrs. Weasly stepped out with a furious look on her face.

"Ronald Weasly! If I ever hear you using that kind of language again I am going to magically seal your mouth!"

"But mum… I'm being attacked…. by crazy little… monsters." Thinking Ron had had enough; Harry moved away from the door and drew his wand. With a quick wave, the gnomes currently pummeling Ron were thrown a good twenty feet in various directions.

"Now Ronald, since you have trouble controlling the words that come out of your mouth, you can spend the rest of the time until dinner getting rid of the rest of the gnomes." Leaving no room for a retort, she went back into the kitchen. Ron picked himself off of the ground with a giant scowl on his face, mumbling more undistinguishable obscenities, and went off after the closest gnome.

Harry turned to Ginny who seemed to be immensely enjoying the recent festivities. "Do you think we should help him? I don't think his day has gone very well."

Her face got a mischievous grin on it before she replied, "Oh no, lets go inside. There are much better ways to spend our time without Ronald around intruding."

Harry felt his lips form into a smile, "You know what, I think Ron has it under control." He grabbed her hand and led her into the kitchen, quickly letting go as Mrs. Weasly turned her attention from her cooking. She looked surprised for a second seeing them standing in the kitchen. Harry thought she must not even have noticed them standing outside while she was reprimanding her son for his language

"Oh hello dears; dinner will probably be ready in another hour. Oh my! What is that on your shoulder!" Mrs. Weasly looked like her eyes were going to pop out the sockets. She started patting herself down like she was searching for her wand, which was actually currently in her hand.

"Mum don't worry it won't hurt you, well unless you're George, but it's Harry's new eagle. He bought it today while we were in Diagon Alley. He also bought me a kitten as an early birthday present," Ginny informed her with a bright smile.

"That was very sweet of you Harry. Sorry I lost it there for a second, just haven't had many eagles around the kitchen before," Mrs. Weasly replied before she turned back to the pots and pans she was using to cook.

"Ok, we'll be back down for dinner in an hour Mum," Ginny told her.

Mrs. Weasly turned around from her cooking once again with a searching look on her face. "And what are the two of you going to do upstairs?" She asked.

Ginny looked liked she was struggling for an answer, "Well..um..we're going to go get the animals situated and maybe try and think up names," she finished with a sigh of relief that she was able to come up with a believable story. Mrs. Weasly kept eyeing her with that curious look not at all convinced, but she grabbed Harry's hand quickly and led him up the stairs. They kept walking until they hit Ron's bedroom and hurried inside. Harry dropped down on his bed while his bird flew up to the window ledge. Ginny put her carrier down and pulled out her kitten, talking to it like it were a small child.

"You know, I think your mum knows something is going on. I know you saw that look she was giving you when you said we were going upstairs together."

"She probably does, mum is really perceptive. She can always tell when something is happening with one of her children. It can be really annoying sometimes, but it doesn't matter anymore because we're going let everyone know tonight."

Harry felt his stomach roll over a few times, as his nerves started to kick in to full gear. It wasn't that he was really worried about Mr. and Mrs. Weasly, but the rest of her brothers, who were all bigger than him. Ginny seemed to have noticed his anxiety because she came over and sat directly on his lap.

"Don't worry about it Harry, I promise nobody is going to hurt you. If they do then I get to hurt them," she smiled sweetly.

Harry laughed as his nerves receded some. Now it felt like there was a niffler rolling around in his stomach in place of the hippogriff that had been there a few seconds prior. He pulled back her hair and started placing kisses on the back of her neck. She shivered at the contact of his lips on her skin, and leaned back against his chest.

"Can I ask you something Harry?" She got up and straddled him so that she could look at his face.

"Gin, you know you can ask me anything, especially when you're sitting on my lap like this," he grinned at her.

She got a serious look on her face before she started. "You weren't serious today were you?"

Harry thought for a second, but had no idea what she was talking about. "You're going to have to remind me what I said Gin."

"When you were talking to Ron after we got hounded by those people, you said you were going to move to a different country to get away," she finished softly.

He was taken aback for a second by what she said. Grabbing her chin and pushing it up so that she was looking him straight in the eye he answered her. "Gin I was only joking. I'm sorry if I scared you, but there is no way that I would ever leave any of you. The only way I would ever leave is if you were coming with me. Do you know why that would be?"

"No," she answered still looking him in the eye.

"Because I love you more than anything Gin."

Ginny's eyes lit up and Harry could see tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She put the kitten down on the floor that had still been in her hands. Before he even new what was happening, she had thrown her arms around him and was squeezing him in a death grip. If it wasn't for the fact that he wasn't able to breathe it would have been rather enjoyable. She held him for what felt like several hours, and let go and sat back down in his lap. They just sat and looked at each other for a while before either of them said a word.

"Are you serious? Did you really mean it?" Ginny asked with a hopeful look.

"I'm dead serious Gin. I can't even describe how much I love you. It was so stupid that it took me six years to see what an amazing person you are. Every night while I was away last year, searching for the horcruxes, all I could think about was you, and that amazing kiss you gave me for my birthday."

"I love you too Harry," she voiced sincerely. She moved her arms back around his back and moved her lips to his in what started as a loving, chaste kiss. As time started to pass, Ginny moved her arms under the back of his shirt. This caused them to increase the passion of there kiss as Harry reached under the back of her shirt and started to massage the muscles in her back, causing her to lean into him even more. Reluctantly Harry pulled his face away from hers, their hands still under each others shirts.

"Gin we need to stop. Ron's my best mate and he would never forgive me if I did anything more in his bedroom with his little sister."

Ginny sat back and sighed. "You're right, unfortunately. We'll just have to continue this later. What do you think?" she grinned.

"I'm up for anything. Maybe we should try to figure out names for our new companions incase your mum asks for proof of what we were doing up here all this time."

"That's a good idea. Let me grab Ron's History of Magic book. There are some really interesting names in there that we could use." Ginny got up off his lap, much to Harry's displeasure, and went over to where some of Ron's old textbooks were sitting around, covered in a layer of dust. She came back over plopped down on the spot next Harry and blew the dust off of the book. For the next half an hour they sat on the bed paging through the book. Harry realized the book was much more exciting when you weren't using it for its intended purpose of learning magical history. Eventually he pulled out a quill and some parchment and they started listing names that peaked their interest.

"Well," Harry started, shutting the book and throwing it back over onto Ron's bed, "I think we can find something in this list, but I think it's about time we head down for dinner. I'm guessing Ron's done getting rid of the gnomes by now. That is if they haven't tackled him again and dragged him away."

"Ok let's get a move on before mum yells." She got up off of the bed and offered him her hand. As she pulled him up off of the bed, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her again before they started off down the stairs.

The kitchen was full of activity once again. Percy and Charlie were seated at the table in discussion about something. Mrs. Weasly was busy putting all sorts of food onto plates to be served. As they stepped into the kitchen and headed towards the table the door burst open and a very frustrated looking Ron came in with scrapes on his arms and a scratch right underneath his eye.

"That is the last time that I am ever going near those things. They seem to have some kind of personal vendetta against me. Every time I went after one, another five would come up behind and jump me. If I hadn't started stunning I would have never finished, although they'll probably all be right back tomorrow," Ron finished heading over the sink and cleaning out his injuries.

"Well Ronald, if you don't want to go near them again I would suggest that you shut your mouth the next time you have the urge to shout obscenities, especially in front of your sister," Mrs. Weasly lectured, not even turning around to face him.

"Oh yeah, because she's got the most innocent mouth," Ron said rolling his eyes.

"I have no idea what you are referring to my dear brother," Ginny challenged trying to put on the most innocent face she could manage.

"Yeah right," he answered.

Before the argument had a chance to get into its full stride, the fire place ignited and a figure stepped through the green flames. George Weasly dusted himself off before Mrs. Weasly came over and enveloped her son in a bone shattering hug, only she was capable of.

"How are you doing sweetheart we haven't seen you in while? How is the shop going?" Mrs. Weasly fired off questions.

"I'm fine mum, really. The shop hasn't been doing great, but that should change now that I have some new employees," George grinned.

"Oh really who are they, anybody I know?"

"I would hope so, considering that you gave birth to two of them," George laughed at his mother's confused expression.

"I'm referring to Ron and Ginny, and Harry is also going to come help me for the rest of the summer."

"Oh that's wonderful dear! That will give them something to keep them busy before they all head back off to school."

Harry did his best not to flinch at her comment or attempt to correct her. He wasn't sure what his friends feelings were on the matter, but he was definitely leaning towards not going back to complete his seventh year. Hermione most likely would go back, the draw of being able to take her N.E.W.T.s being too much to bear. Ron was a different story; Harry really had no idea what he was going to do about school. Just then there was a popping sound outside and the door to the kitchen opened.

"Good evening all, something smells good," Mr. Weasly commented as he strolled into the kitchen, hat in hand. He strolled over to his wife kissing her and taking a seat at the table.

Harry walked over and took the seat next to Mr. Weasly at the table, Ginny taking the seat next to him. "So Mr. Weasly, how is the ministry recovering so far?" Harry asked.

"Ah well, we did manage one tall feat today. We finally managed to put the Wizengamot back in place. It was a real job though, trying to replace the members who were either killed or were Voldemort supporters. Hopefully we'll be able to start putting the Death Eaters we caught on trial."

"Have there been anymore reports on the Death Eaters still at large Father?" Percy asked joining in the conversation.

"From what we've heard most of them have been reported to have fled the country, so you're department should be on the lookout for any information coming in." Percy had gone back to his job in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Mr. Weasly had convinced the ministry on taking him back, against their judgment after his loyalty to the previous administrations. For the most part the family had forgiven him after he came to fight at Hogwarts, but you could still see that there were still fences to mend. Harry had gotten over it and forgiven him, but there was still some hostility their as well. He would never understand how anyone could abandon their family just for aspirations of furthering their career.

"What's going to happen to the people who go on trial? Is Azkaban still being used?" Ginny asked her father.

"Most of the people will probably be sentenced to prison, but they'll have to stay in the ministry holding cells until the security situation is figured out at Azkaban. It's a problem now that the dementors are gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Ginny inquired.

"Well after the battle all we found left of the dementors were their empty cloaks. Whatever was underneath apparently just disappeared. The Unspeakables are currently looking into it because nobody has an explanation."

"I bet I could explain it," Harry interrupted.

"Really?" the table asked almost in unison.

"Yes. If you think about it, what is it that dementors do? They make you relive your worst memories and experiences. I can testify to that from personal experience on several accounts, but what happened when Voldemort was destroyed? I think that the first thing that entered everyone's mind was relief and wanting to celebrate the end of the war. All of those things are positive emotions. Given the amount of people who were at Hogwarts that night and all the positive feelings, I bet it was too much for them to take. They were probably either destroyed or left to go back wherever they came from," he finished.

Everyone around just gaped at him for a few seconds before Ron turned around from the sink. "Harry, I think you've been spending too many years around Hermione. I've only ever heard her come up with something like that. That was the most insightful thing I've heard you say in seven years." Everyone chuckled at that as Ron took a seat at the table next to George.

"Yeah, well it must have been Hermione I got it from because it definitely didn't come from you," Harry laughed.

"Hey, I'm not _that _dumb. I say something smart every once in a while," Ron defended himself.

"If every once in a while means never," George added causing the table to erupt in laughter once again.

"Alright, that's enough of that. Please set the table so I can put dinner out if you don't mind. George what happened to you?" Mrs. Weasly asked just noticing the scratches on him.

"Oh well, those three decided it would be nice to surprise me and break into the shop today. I thought it was somebody else and I sort hit Harry with a spell. His bird wasn't too happy with that and that's why I'm scratched. How's your back Harry? I really wasn't trying to blast you into that shelf."

"Don't worry about it. It's a little sore, but I think I'll live. It was our fault anyway."

"Here we go everyone, tuck in," Mrs. Weasly said as she levitated plates full of her cooking onto the dining table. Everyone immediately started helping themselves to her wonderful cooking. Ron started piling food onto his plate like it would be his last meal. The conversations they had while eating had absolutely nothing to do with war which a relief to everyone. Soon the plates on the table were full of significantly less amounts of food and the table's occupants were just finishing up their dessert.

"Well," Mr. Weasly started to get up, "I'm going up to change out of my work robes, why don't we all meet in the living room in about ten minutes and we'll have an after dinner drink?" There was a murmuring of agreement as he went to change.

Ginny whispered to Harry as he left, "I'm going into the living room, wait a second and then come and join me." Leaving no room for discussion she pushed her chair out from the table and left for the living room. After waiting a minute, he looked around to see if anyone at the table was paying attention, but to his immense relief they all seemed to be carried away in conversation with each other. Slowly, he pushed himself away from the table and tiptoed out of the kitchen without disturbing anyone as he left. Entering the living room, he saw Ginny spread out on the couch.

"It took you long enough," Ginny joked pulling down onto the couch next to her.

"Well I wanted to make sure it wasn't too obvious I was following you. So how do you want to go about telling everyone?"

"I don't know we'll think of something. First thing I want you to do is lay down on the couch so I can fix that back of yours." Using her surprising strength she pushed him down on his stomach and started massaging his back. He put his head down and felt the soreness in his back start to ebb away. What happened next really surprised him. She used her strength again to roll him over so he was on his back and proceeded to jump on top of him. Before he knew what was going on they were kissing so hard he thought his lips were going to fall off. How long they were like that he didn't know, but they were brought back to reality when they heard clapping and whistling coming from behind them. Harry thought immediately that all of the color in his face had disappeared as he saw the whole Weasly family standing at the entrance to the living room. George and Charlie were the ones who were clapping and whistling. Percy was just standing there. Ron looked like he wanted to hit someone. Mrs. Weasly had the largest smile he had ever seen on her face while unshed tears were in her eyes, and Mr. Weasly had an unmistakable grin on his face.

"Harry I'm going to pummel you. I can't believe you would go and jump my sister in the living room," Ron exclaimed.

"Ron calm down you prat. It looks more like it was Ginny that jumped him," George said chuckling.

"Oh I knew it, I told you dear," Mrs. Weasly said to her husband. "So how long has this been going on?"

"We just recently got back together," Ginny answered.

Charlie stood there for a second with a mischievous smile on his face, "So when is the wedding?" Everybody besides Ron immediately burst into laughter at the sight of what remaining color left Harry's face.


	5. Seeing Red

Chapter Five

Seeing Red

The house had finally settled down after the night's activities, as Harry dragged himself up the stairs towards Ron's bedroom. He found the journey a little more difficult after he had had the shots of firewhisky that George and Charlie had forced him to drink. When he somehow managed to make it up to the bedroom, he opened the door to find an agitated Ron sitting on his bed with his arms crossed. He looked liked he was glaring at him, but with the affects of the firewhisky he was having some trouble focusing. He went in and took a seat on his bed.

"Alright Ron?"

"I can't believe you were sneaking around with my little sister behind my back. Why didn't you tell me this was going on?"

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but I was concerned how you would take it, especially after you gave me that speech last summer," Harry explained, pleading for him to understand.

"Yeah well you shouldn't go after a girl, especially my sister, if you already dumped her once," Ron answered heatedly.

"Listen Ron, you have to understand why I broke up with Ginny last year. I wasn't doing it because I didn't love your sister because I do love your sister. The reason I did it was because I was worried about her and wanted her to be safe. Think about it if they knew I loved your sister last year, they could have taken her away in a heartbeat at the wedding or they would have tried to steal her away from Hogwarts. The thing is they didn't know, and they didn't take her. She may have been upset, but she's probably alive right now because I told her we couldn't be together."

'Do you really love my sister?" Ron asked looking him directly in the eyes with nothing, but seriousness.

"I wouldn't have said if I didn't mean it."

"Well I'm sorry I snapped at you, but if you want to be with Ginny, you better be in it for the long haul."

"Oh trust me Ron, I don't intend on letting her go this time. Apparently I still have to give Charlie the wedding date so I need to get started on that," Harry grinned at him.

"Harry, are you messing with me?" Ron's eyes were as wide as they could possibly go.

"Just a bit, but I do intend to marry your sister. Charlie is just going to have to wait a little bit for the date to be announced." As Harry finished there was a scraping against the closed door so he got up to inspect what it was. He opened the door and looked around outside, but didn't see anything suspicious so he closed it and went back to his bed. He changed out his clothes and slipped under the covers on the bed.

"Hey Harry?" Ron spoke as he was getting himself ready for bed.

"What's up?"

"Do I get to be your best man?"

Harry laughed and turned to face him, "Of course you do mate, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Now stop getting sappy on me and we can discuss this more in the morning. Goodnight." Harry turned back around and fell asleep with a large smile stretching across his face.

**xXxXxXx**

After a very relaxing night of sleep, Harry was brought back to reality when he realized that he wasn't alone in his bed. Turning himself around he saw there was a beautiful red head staring at him with a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning sleepy," she said leaning down to kiss him.

"Mmm, it's really nice waking up with a beautiful girl next to you in the morning. Maybe I should try it more often."

"Yeah, well it better be me that you wake up to," she replied playfully punching him in the arm.

"You know you're the only person I ever want to wake up next to. And you should know that considering you heard the whole conversation that I had with Ron last night after I came upstairs."

All of a sudden the smile that had been on Ginny's face disappeared and her mouth was left hanging open in complete shock. "How did you know, I thought I got away in time?"

Harry couldn't help laughing at the expression on her after finding out she had been caught. "Well your birthday present gave you away. It took me a few minutes to realize what could have made the sound that I heard, but eventually I figured it was your kitten that was pawing at the door. I'm also guessing there was a pair of extendable ears involved in your spy mission. Am I right?"

Looking defeated Ginny answered, "Yes, I used the extendable ears and I was holding my kitten while I was listening. Speaking of what you told Ron last night, when exactly are you planning on asking me to marry you. Now you have me excited."

Harry laid his head back down on his pillow and looked back at her. "I would ask you now because you're almost of age, but I wouldn't want to do that to your parents with you still in school. Although, I could ask you before you're finished at Hogwarts and then we could just put off the wedding to after you graduate."

She leaned down and kissed him again. "Harry you know I would say yes anytime, but now that you said it you have to do it before I'm out of school. I don't think I could wait till afterwards."

"Well, now I know what to get your for Christmas I guess," Harry said grinning at her.

"That would definitely be the best Christmas gift I could ever get," she stated moving herself so that she was lying on top of him. The two were so engrossed with each other at the moment that they didn't notice the door to the bedroom open.

"Oi! I am fine with you two being together, but there is no way in hell that I want you two shagging in my bedroom."

Taking a look at the perturbed Ron standing in the doorway and then looking back each other, Harry nodded to Ginny and she proceeded to nod back in an unspoken agreement. Ron thinking that he had gotten his point across started to go back over towards his bed, but stopped short and covered his eyes when he saw his sister and best friend start kissing even harder then when he had walked in.

"Ahh, stop doing it, I'm going to have rip my eyes out if you don't. You know what that's it. I didn't want to do it, but it seems there is no other option." Pulling his wand out of his pocket he proceeded to conjure a bucket of ice water and had it hovering above his head. What he was intending to use the water for, no one had a chance to find out. As he conjured the bucket, Harry had pulled his wand off of the side table and cast a tickling charm at him. Losing control and bursting out laughing, Ron dropped his wand and the bucket of water hovering above his head faltered and released its contents over his head. Harry released the tickling spell and burst out laughing along with Ginny as they watched Ron who was drenched head to foot in ice cold water start shivering uncontrollably.

"You know Ron," Harry started, "you're looking a little wet. Maybe next time you shouldn't conjure the bucket of water above your _own_ head."

"Shut it Harry!" Ron walked over to his dresser and opened the top drawer. After sifting through various garments, he found something suitable to wear and trudged his way out of the room, his feet making squishing noises as he left.

"My brother is an idiot. He can think to conjure a bucket of water to dump on us, but he doesn't think to use his wand to just dry himself off. I was going to remind him, but he seemed to be enjoying being mad."

"Ok, but lets not mess with him anymore. After all he was fine last night after I explained everything so let's not push him too much. Now why don't you go ahead downstairs, and I'll meet you for breakfast after I've had a shower," Harry finished.

"Fine," she answered as she reluctantly got out of bed. "But make it fast because I'm hungry."

Harry pulled himself out of the comfort of his bed and walked over to his trunk. Looking through it he realized that it was really time to clean it out. It looked like a nffler had managed to get in and dig its way through his possessions. He pulled out a few shirts that really needed to be cleaned and then picked his way through some books that he had been reading recently. Finally managing to find some boxers and a crumpled pair of jeans, he left the room and headed towards the bathroom which was currently occupied. He backed up against the wall and waited for whoever was in there to finish. A few minutes later a very agitated Ron exited the bathroom huffing as he passed Harry and mumbling something that sounded like "two bloody showers already this morning." Harry rushed into the bathroom and took a very quick shower and brushed his teeth not wanting to keep a hungry Ginny waiting.

After dropping his dirty clothing off in Ron's room he headed down to Ginny's room and knocked on the door. Waiting a second, she shouted for him to come in and he twisted the knob on the door and made his way in. Ginny was still wearing her pajamas, looking relaxed as she was reading something while lying back against her bed. Closing the door, he made his way over and sat himself next to her on the bed, trying to get a glimpse of what she was reading.

"There's no need to be nosy, it's just my Hogwarts letter. McGonagall just talking about how everything has been repaired and even though the war is over she's going over security measures just in case."

"That's not unexpected; she's just trying to reassure parents and make sure all of the students come back this year."

"Yeah well she really is trying to get _all_ of her students back because there are letters downstairs for you and Ron also."

"Well let's go downstairs and find out what they say and get some breakfast because I am starving." Harry got up off the bed and pulled Ginny to her feet. He walked ahead, but before he could get to the door Ginny jumped up on his back, threw her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso. Wanting to get something out of this predicament as well, he reached around and grabbed her by the bottom to make sure she stayed in place. She seemed to be surprised for a second, but laughed a second later and kissed him on neck. He freed one of his hands of its pleasant grip and opened the door before returning it to its place. They made their way down to the kitchen carefully, Harry trying not to knock his girlfriends head against the ceiling. The only people in the kitchen were Ron who was sitting at the table reading his letter, and Mrs. Weasly who was busy preparing breakfast. Harry dropped Ginny off in one of the kitchen chairs and then plopped down into the seat next to her.

"What does your letter say Ron?" Harry asked as he helped himself to some toast that was already sitting out on the table.

"Oh it's just saying that I am welcome to come back for my seventh year, nothing else," Ron answered putting the letter down. He picked up the other letter that was sitting on the table to his left and threw it over to Harry. "Go ahead mate, see what yours says."

Harry proceeded to pick up the letter that had landed on his plate of toast and broke the seal to open it. He noticed the familiar writing of Professor McGonagall and read.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I hope that this letter is finding you well and that you are enjoying your summer holiday. By now I am sure you have noticed that your friends have received their normal Hogwarts letters for the upcoming school term. While I do not know of your intentions for the next school year, it the wish of myself and Professor Dumbledore for you to come to the school for a meeting to discuss your options. If you could be at the school tomorrow at noon, it would be greatly appreciated. The password to my office is Nosebleed Nougat._

_Thank you_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress _

Harry read over the letter a second time to make sure he had read over everything correctly. He sorted through his thoughts trying to think of a reason why he would need to go to a meeting to discuss his options, but was unable to think of one. It took a minute for him to realize that the others were sitting and staring at him in anticipation. Even Mrs.Weasly had turned away from her cooking to find out the letter's contents.

"So what does it say Harry?" Ginny asked.

"She wants me to come to Hogwarts tomorrow to discuss my options for the school year. Not that I have any idea what she could be talking about. The only options I thought I had been to go back to Hogwarts or to not go back." he answered.

"I guess you'll find out tomorrow then. What time do you have to go?"

"She wants me to be there at noon. I'm really curious to find out why Dumbledore's portrait wanted a meeting as well. Not that it bothers me, as longs as he doesn't throw out another prophecy he forgot to inform me about." Ron and Ginny snorted at his last comment while Mrs. Weasly just shook her head and went back to her cooking. "Ron, have you talked to Hermione at all about what she's planning on doing?"

"She hasn't made up her mind yet. I think she really wants to go back and finish, but I think she's waiting to see what we decide. Everyone else from our year is already gone so there won't be anyone else there beside Ginny that she's friends with. She doesn't really need to come back if she doesn't want to. If that's what she decides than she can just go to the ministry and sit for her N.E.W.T.s seeing as she already knows most of the material."

"Well hopefully after tomorrow you will all be able to come to a decision," Ginny encouraged. "We better hurry up and eat so we can floo over to the joke shop."

A half an hour after they had all finished breakfast and gotten dressed they found themselves stepping out of the fireplace of Weasly's Wizard Wheezes. Harry and Ginny helped Ron up who had come through last and unceremoniously fallen on his face onto the filthy floor. After picking him up, Harry looked around the shop for any sign of activity, but was disappointed to see that everything was still. Inside he was definitely hoping that George hadn't reverted back to the dejected form that they found when they broke into the shop the previous day. He was relieved and put those thoughts to rest when he saw that Ginny had found a note from George pinned to the mantle above the fireplace.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny

I forgot to ask you three last night what time you were going to come by today. If your reading this then it's probably still early and I am astounded that you were able to get Ron out of bed. Sorry I'm not here to greet you for your first day of work, but I had some errands to run. I should be back in a few hours, so if you want to get started you can just clean up the main part of the store and make sure all the merchandise is in the right spot.

George

"I guess we should get started then," Ron suggested, still trying to clean himself off after his trip to the floor. They walked around the main shop trying to get an idea of what needed to be done. There main priority would be cleaning considering the amount of dust and dirt that accumulated around that store. Ron started cleaning around the counter while Ginny started on the section full of products for girls and section for muggle tricks. Harry went over to where he was thrown into the wall the previous day and started sifting through the merchandise that had landed on the floor. He was able to salvage most of the products except for a few of the fanged Frisbees, which looking back, he was grateful he had not landed on yesterday. After he had finished moving the merchandise out the way, he cast a quick _Reparo, _and the shelf jumped back into place.

After a few hours of work, everything was looking as good as new. The cleaning had gone smoothly until Ron accidentally knocked over a container of Peruvian Instant Darkness powder that had been behind the counter. They had to sit still for around twenty minutes because they were afraid they would fall over one of the displays. Ginny had not been pleased at being trapped and let Ron know in the form of a well placed bat bogey hex. If Harry had not stopped she would most likely have kept throwing off curses. It was lucky for her that they had lifted the ban on underage magic or else an owl would have been making its way there with a warning.

They had been taking a break for about a half an hour when Harry heard the front door opening. He looked and saw George entering carrying various packages, piled high in his arms. The packages barely clear the top of the door frame. Harry wondered if he wanted to know what was in them because he swore he could see one of them shaking.

"And how are my fine employees doing today?" George inquired as he placed the packages on a small wooden table by the door.

"We're fine, but we'd be better if we knew why exactly that package you just set down is moving," Ron answered.

"Oh nothing to worry about dear brother, there just some fire pixies. I usually use them for all of the various fireworks, but I'm working on a new type of fanged Frisbee that will shoot off sparks when it's thrown. I haven't got it quite right yet, but it's a work in progress. I also see that you three have done a wonderful job cleaning up the store. How about we head over to the Leaky Cauldron and get some lunch." All three agreed, but Ron did reluctantly, drawing attention from his brother. "What's up with you Ron?"

"It's nothing," he said trying to exit the room as fast as possible.

"Oh, it is too something. I'll tell you what happened on our way over," Ginny laughed. She proceeded to fill George in on what occurred at the Leaky Cauldron, all the while receiving death glares from Ron, whose face had turned crimson in embarrassment. They finally reached the pub and found a booth in the back, away from the other patrons. George went and placed their order with Tom and came back and sat down. It appeared that Ron got off lucky because there didn't seem to be anyone around who had witnessed his incident. Harry thought to himself that Ron had probably scared away some of the customers, not that he would ever actually tell him that.

"So what else did you buy while you were running your errands this morning?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Sorry little sister," George started, "but some of those items that I bought are not what you would call legal, and I am taking no chances of any word getting back to our mother of what I am messing with. Not that I don't trust you guys, but I'm just covering my own bum."

"If you can't tell us what you bought at least tell us where you got them," Ron requested.

George seemed to be thinking it over before he gave an answer. "I guess it couldn't hurt to tell you that at least. Not that you wouldn't be able to figure it out anyway. I acquired the supplies from Knockturn Alley. I had to get them this morning because their shutting it down and cleaning it out."

"What do you mean their cleaning it out?" Harry asked

"Exactly what I said, their gutting the whole place out so they can expand Diagon Alley. Dad mentioned it to me last night. The ministry doesn't want to take any chances that they may be harboring or serving Death Eaters. Apparently it was just agreed upon, but Dad didn't know exactly when they were going to start. That's why I had to go today and get whatever I could before everything's gone."

"I bet you that Borgin buffoon won't be too pleased about that," Ginny snickered.

"Yeah well he's just getting what he deserved. It's what happens when you spend your life cheating people and dealing in dark magic," Harry added.

"If there shutting down how are you going to get your supplies then George?" Ginny noted.

"It makes it a bit more difficult for sure, but I can always go back to using ol' Dung to get me what I need. Though, it'll probably be more expensive."

"Here you go folks," Tom interrupted He placed four plates of fish and chips in front of them along with four bottles of butterbeer. He gave a slight bow after they thanked him for the service and made his way back to the bar. They sat around and ate and conversed about various topics for another hour. The pub started to fill up eventually and most of the tables were filled. Harry suggested they leave because it was becoming uncomfortable having people constantly staring and pointing at them.

They made their back into the alley and away from the stares. The crowd was definitely larger then it had it been the previous day. Harry could only attribute this to the fact that the Hogwarts letters had arrived today and people were eager to get their shopping out of the way. He saw a few people he recognized from school, but the crowd was packed too tightly to maneuver his way to them. They passed by Gringotts quickly, wary of starting a war with the goblins, but as they got closer to the joke shop something didn't seem right. Harry looked towards the entrance to Knockturn Alley and could see a line of people running quickly away. He looked towards Ron, Ginny, and George, but they simply shrugged having no idea what was happening. They got closer to the entrance, but as soon as they took another step forward there was a great rumbling sound and the ground began to shake. All four put their arms out to the sides trying to keep their balance. The next moment a great blinding red light erupted from a central point in the sky. It began moving uncontrollably looking like a flag blowing around in gale force winds. The light began to spread out and Harry felt a great invisible starting to push his body backwards. The feeling gradually increased as the light made its way closer. Sensing the light was about to hit them, Harry instinctively threw himself in front of Ginny. A feeling like nothing had experienced before hit him like a stone wall. He felt himself thrown backwards, but that was about the end of his recollections as he crashed into a bench and smashed his head. The red light that had been surrounded him before was replaced with nothing, but darkness.


	6. More Mysteries

Chapter 6

More Mysteries

Flashes of light. A female's voice. That was all Harry could see and hear for a few moments. He vaguely remembered being thrown backwards and then hitting something, but other then that he had no idea of what was going on. One, thing was for sure though; his whole body felt like it had been crushed. He was fighting hard just to try and catch his breath, but also not to scream from the intense pain. Eventually the female voice started to become louder. He knew that voice, but who could it be? Ginny!

"Harry! Please wake up, don't do this to me. Come on love, wake up for me."

All he could think for a moment was that she was ok. She wanted him to wake up so he had to try. He summoned all the strength he could gather within himself and tried to force his eyelids up. It wasn't easy and it felt like they had been taped shut. The progress was slow, but eventually more light started to invade his vision. The light was intense and he could feel his eyes tearing up from the exposure. As the blurriness started to leave he realized by some miracle that his glasses had managed to remain secured to his face. Then he saw her, the most beautiful thing he had ever known. If it wasn't for the fact that he was still in tremendous pain he would of thought he had died, gone to heaven, and was staring into the face of an angel.

"Gin?"

"Oh my god Harry, thank Merlin! You had me so worried. I can't believe you stepped in front me. Don't ever do that again! You are the most brave and stupid prat that I know. I love you, I love you, I love you!" She finished her exclamations and started kissing him all over his face. As much as he wanted to just lay there and let her have her way with him, he really wanted to find out what was going on.

"Ginny what happened? All I remember was the ground shaking and being hit by the red light. What's going on?"

"Apparently the ministry decided that today was a good day to try and take over Knockturn Alley. The shop owners didn't really approve and they started fighting back. The aurors are down fighting with them and that's where George and Ron are trying to help. I have no idea what the light was though. Everyone else around went flying backwards too, except for me. You just got unlucky because you hit that bench."

"Yeah don't remind me. I can't believe they decided to try and take it in the middle of the day. What else did they expect to happen? Help me up, we need to go see if they need help."

"Harry I don't think that's a good idea. You fell really hard and you might have a concussion."

Ginny argued with him for another minute, but his stubbornness eventually won out. She grabbed him by the hands and began pulling him off the hardness of the ground. Harry bit down hard on his bottom lip trying not to scream out. The pain he felt in his chest was agony. There was something running down the side of his face, undoubtedly blood. He gathered his remaining strength and fought to regain his composure. After another few seconds, he took of down the entrance to the alley. What he saw before his eyes when he arrived was utter chaos. Most of the shops had substantial damage to them, and all of the windows had been shattered, glass littering the streets. There were wizards dueling all over the street. He wasn't at all surprised to see that some of the shop owners were sporting Death Eater robes minus the usual mask to cover the faces. The battle that was going on seemed to be even at the moment. Either the ministry had underestimated the shop owners or the numbers of aurors had seriously been depleted by the war.

He looked around and saw Ron and George fervidly dueling against one of the men in the black robes who had himself barricaded behind a pile of rubbish. The man threw a blue tinted curse at Ron who was forced to duck down to avoid it. Seeing an opportunity, George pulled something out of his pocket quickly and without a second thought, threw it in the direction of the attacker. All of a sudden the man who had himself barricaded found his body floating upside down in the air with all the other various objects that had been around him. At other any time this would have been extremely amusing, but in the situation the man was still trying to keep throwing off curses. The aim of the curses wasn't anything to be proud of, but one lucky reductor curse hit the wall next to George and forced him to take cover. Harry did his best to ignore the pain he was feeling and snuck his way behind the man. By the time he got into position the charm that had been on the black robed wizard had worn off and he had righted himself on the ground. As he went to advance on the two brothers, Harry took his chance and jumped out and fired a series of stunners at the wizard. He turned backward as the first spell whizzed past him and just got a shield up to block the second stunner. His luck ran out though as the third stunner that Harry shot broke through the weakened shield and smashed into his chest. A sickening thud was heard as the victim hit the brick wall standing behind him. Harry rushed over to where his friends were situated as soon as it was clear.

"Harry! Are you alright? Last time we saw you, you were out cold," Ron exclaimed.

"I'm alright, just a little banged up. What's going on down here?"

"Those store owners are putting up one hell of a fight, not to mention that half of them are Death Eaters. Half the aurors got knocked out by whatever that thing was with the red light. I heard somebody saying that it was Borgin who set whatever that thing was off. I've never seen anything that was capable of that before," George explained.

"Yeah, well I'm sure there's a load of stuff in his shop that we don't want to be on the wrong end of. Is he still in his shop or did the ministry take him out?" Harry questioned.

"Last time we saw he was still in his shop throwing curses and all types of dark stuff around. Maybe we should go check it out." George stood up and led Harry and Ron down the street towards Borgin and Burkes. When they got close to shop they ducked behind a pile of crates because there were still spells shooting out of the glassless windows of the store. Whoever was still in the store had the advantage because they were under cover and no one could close enough without getting hit. Harry pondered a way of getting in and then he remembered the thing that George had thrown to make the man float upside down.

"George, do you have anything else from your store with you. Whatever you threw at that Death Eater before worked really well."

"Ah, you're referring to the anti gravity pellets. There a recent invention, not on the market yet, but unfortunately I only had one of those with me. Lucky for us I carry a wide variety of other products with me for situations just like this." George reached into his pocket and felt around for a few seconds until he pulled out something and handed it to Harry. "There you go. Just throw it through the store window."

Harry looked down in his hand at what George had given him. It was a tiny rectangle that looked oddly like a small television screen. There seemed to be small white specks floating in it. If George had created it, it was probably going to make one hell of a mess. "What exactly is this and how big of a mess is it going to make?" Harry asked.

George had an evil grin on his face that could only mean bad things. "If I told you that would spoil the surprise, just go and throw it so we can get this tosser out of the store." Harry reluctantly got up out of his cover and brought up a quick shield charm to avoid being hit by a stray spell. He saw his opportunity when the spell fire coming out went slightly to his right and he sprinted towards the store and threw the rectangle into the window. Harry fell back to the spot where his friends were still sitting and waited for the action. By the time he made it back he figured something should have happened, but any type of action was absent so far. He looked over at George to see what was going on, but he was still staring straight ahead with a look of anticipation on his face. That's when it happened.

There was a short explosion from inside the store as smoke started pouring out of the windows. It was silent for a short second later then a man's scream ripped though the air. A rustling sound could be heard next, and then Harry watched in amazement as what looked like thousands of doves started pouring out of the store. All the while the screaming just continued. After a few more minutes all sounds in the store stopped and a few straggling birds made their way out. The three boys stood up from behind the crates and made their way over the door. It was hanging on its hinges and didn't take much to fall as Harry kicked it down. He had been absolutely right. What was left behind in the store was an utter mess. There were objects strewn about all over the floor. The entire inside looked like it was covered in white, either left over feathers or bird droppings. He made his way further into the store holding his wand at the ready. He searched around the store, careful not to touch anything remembering this was where the cursed necklace that Katie Bell had fallen victim to used to reside. As he made his way to the counter, he looked behind it which was where he saw a man struggling to get to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the wand on the floor that the man was reaching for as he hoisted his body up.

"I don't think so Borgin. _Incarcerous_!" The spell shot out of Harry's wand and ropes sprang out of the air and put a tight hold on Mr. Borgin. He struggled for a few seconds before he realized it was hopeless. Harry walked forward and grabbed his wand, throwing it across the room so that it was out of reach. He took hold of the ropes that were binding Borgin and lifted him into a standing position, leaning him against the counter. After turning his attention away from his captive he saw Ron and George standing closely behind him. "Can you guys go and find Ginny? We got separated after I stunned that Death Eater. Make sure she's ok and then go tell the aurors I've got a prisoner for them to pick up."

George started making his way towards the door but Ron remained standing in the same spot. "What are you going to do with this dumb bloke?"

"Oh, I've just got some questions for him that I would like answered before the aurors get here. You guys go ahead and find Ginny, I promise I won't hurt him too bad," Harry replied with a laugh causing Borgin to begin struggling again against his restraints. Unfortunately all his energy was wasted as he fell to the floor completely helpless. Harry watched as George exited the building with Ron following behind. He turned back towards Borgin and lifted him off the ground once again. The effort alerted him to the fact that his injuries were bothering him because he felt a sharp pain in his chest and could feel it becoming hard to breathe normally. "So, Borgin, do you have any idea how much trouble you are in right now?"

Borgin just stared at him and snarled before answering. "You have no proof of anything Potter; I'll be out free in no time at all."

"No I don't think so. I have enough information for you to be in Azkaban for the rest of your life. I think being an accomplice to murder and attempted murder is enough for that to happen."

"I never helped murder anyone you stupid fool. You're just spitting out more of your famous lies," Borgin growled.

"So I guess that you had nothing to do with the repair of a cabinet that led Death Eaters into Hogwarts and resulted in the murder of Albus Dumbledore. Or how about the Hand of Glory that allowed Draco Malfoy to make his way through the school while everyone else was blinded. Not to mention a certain necklace that you sold that almost killed a friend of mine a couple of years ago. Did you not think that there would be no punishment for your actions? Are you that much of an idiot?"

Borgin's face had definitely fallen as Harry had listed off the thing that he had done. The menacing look had disappeared to be replaced by one of unmistakable fear. "What was I supposed to do? The Malfoy boy came and threatened me with Death Eaters and that monster Greyback. I had no choice."

"You always have choices Borgin. You just chose the easy way out. I'll take pity on you though and inform the ministry that you were being threatened. That is as long as you answer one question."

"What is it?"

"What was that thing that you set off and who did you buy it off of?"

"I actually have no idea what the thing was. Neither did I have any idea of what it was going to do. Some man showed up the other day saying the ministry was going to try and take away our stores and that this object would help hold them off. Told me he made it himself."

"What did he look like?" Harry questioned.

"Older man, couldn't see all of his face because he was wearing a hood. I don't think he was a Death Eater though. Also looked kind of strange, he was carrying around some old book with him, held it like it was some sort of treasure; Looked like he was a nutter to me."

"Well, thanks for the information, and I'll keep my word and inform the ministry that you were being threatened. Enjoy your time in jail, and if you somehow manage to get out, clean up your act." Before Borgin had a chance to respond Harry had flicked his wand and the ropes that were holding him shimmied there way up his body and covered his mouth. Just as he finished a couple of aurors made their way through the door and Harry explained to them the situation. The aurors grabbed Borgin and then took a portkey presumably to the ministry. Harry stepped out from behind the counter and went to go find his friends and girlfriend.

When he got outside he saw that the battle seemed to have settled down and just a few ministry officials were around cleaning things up. He looked around and saw Ron, Ginny, and George approaching him. As soon as Ginny got to him, she threw her arms around him into another one of her death grip hugs.

"I'm glad you're alright. The last thing I saw was you running after Ron and George," she muttered into his chest. While he normally loved having her arms around him, right now it was causing him extreme pain from the day's injuries he had sustained. He tried to bear it as long as he could, but eventually he had to pull her away. The need to cough overwhelmed him and he put his hand in front of his mouth which was when he realized that he was coughing up blood. The coughing fit was making it even harder to breathe and he felt himself become light headed and dropped down to his knees. He was so disoriented that he didn't even realize that Ron and George were holding him up under his arms and that Ginny was holding his face in her hands trying to get his attention. He tried to focus on her face, but eventually the exhaustion from trying to stay awake overwhelmed him and he blacked out.

xXxXxXx

When Harry opened his eyes the first thing he saw was orange, which could only mean that he was in Ron's bedroom. He reached over to the table next to his bed and put on the pair of glasses that were lying there. The sky outside the window was dark which meant that it was either late at night or extremely early in the morning. Guessing by the fact that Ron wasn't in his bed it was probably late at night and he hadn't come to sleep yet. Suddenly the realization of what had occurred in Diagon Alley earlier came back to him and he reached down to touch wear just hours before there had been extreme pain. As he felt around he noticed that he was wearing a pair of his pajama bottoms, but his shirt was off and his chest was wrapped in white bandages. He moved his legs off the side off the bed and was glad when he realized the pain in his chest had lessened into more of just an ache. He stood up and went over to retrieve his shirt from his trunk when the door to the bedroom opened. Ginny was standing there with her hands on his hips so Harry prepared himself for the verbal accosting he was about to receive. It was a good idea.

"Harry James Potter what do you think you are doing out of bed? If you are not back in that bed in three seconds I am going to hex you!" Harry normally would have argued, but the fact that she had her wand in her hand squashed that idea. He left his shirt in his trunk and quickly made his way back into his bed before she managed to make it to three.

"Are you happy now?" Harry asked irritably. He quickly wished he would not have said that.

"WHAT! No I am not happy! I told you to not go into Knockturn Alley, but did you listen to me? No, you didn't. What would have happened if we weren't there when you passed out? You had broken ribs and a punctured lung; you could have laid there and died! How do you think I would have felt if you would have died? I just get you back and then you run off-" She suddenly stopped and burst into tears which was the last thing that Harry had wanted to happen. He got up off of his bed once again and went and put his arms around her, letting her cry into his shoulder. They stood there for a few minutes before Harry went back over to his bed and took Ginny with him. He let her get in first and then got in next to her. She put her arms around him and laid her head down on his chest.

"I'm sorry Gin. I didn't mean to make you worry. At the time I didn't realize I was hurt that bad, but I still should have listened to you."

Ginny shook her head in the affirmative into his chest. "You're right you should have listened to me. You have got to stop thinking that you need to do everything. The world does not rest on your shoulders anymore. Let the rest of the bloody world take care of everything. Now you can get on with your life and enjoy your time with me."

Harry couldn't help but smile at her words. "Trust me Gin, I intend to enjoy the rest of my life, especially if you're with me." He reached down and tilted her head up and kissed her softly on the lips. The door to the bedroom opened once again and a tired looking Ron made his way in.

"Why is it that every time I enter my room now the both of you are in bed together? Never mind I don't even want to think about it. I'll just go sleep in George's room." Ron went and grabbed a pair of pajamas out of his dresser and headed towards the door. "Just because I'm letting Ginny stay in here does not mean that I am happy about it. I'm taking pity on Harry because he almost died today, but if I find out in a couple of weeks that I'm going to be an uncle, I'll kill him myself." Ron continued his way out of the room, but not before Ginny waved him off with an obscene hand gesture.

Harry picked up his wand off of the table and waved it and bedroom door softly shut itself. He then turned back to Ginny who was still lying on his chest. "So how exactly did I end up back here? The last thing I remember was passing out."

"Well you were really lucky," Ginny answered. "There was an auror nearby when you passed out and he called a healer who with them. She fixed you well enough that we could take you home. Ron and George carried you back to the joke shop and we used the floo to bring you back. Mum wasn't very happy when we brought you back unconscious. We had to stop her from going to the ministry and making a scene."

"I still don't understand their thinking of going into Knockturn Alley in the middle of the day. It makes no sense to start something when there are so many people out shopping or going out to eat. People could have been seriously hurt if the fighting had spread into Diagon Alley. It really surprises me that Kingsley would have allowed that."

"Let's not worry about it now. We can ask my Dad in the morning to see if he knows anything. He was still at work when I came up here."

"It must have gone bad if he's still at work at this time of night," Harry added.

"Probably, but I'm tired so let's just get some sleep. Mum knows you can't do anything other then sleep since your injured so I'm taking full advantage of being able to sleep with you with no consequences. Goodnight," she finished curling herself around Harry's body.

"Goodnight Gin. I love you." Harry pulled the blankets that were crushed together at the bottom of the bed and covered himself and Ginny.

"I love you too Harry." Harry smiled to himself and lay back in his pillows falling asleep after a few minutes.


End file.
